


Ready Player Two

by omegas



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 07:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12008067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omegas/pseuds/omegas
Summary: Nineteen-year-old Chanyeol works at a quiet brick-and-mortar video game store with seventeen-year-old Sehun. The highlight of their workdays, at least Chanyeol's, is seeing their handsome regular walk through the shop's doors.





	Ready Player Two

**Author's Note:**

> a cute little gamer/youtuber!au !  
> if anyone seems too ooc i apologize ;;;

The video game store was always quiet now. With the ever-increasing popularity of PC gaming and online shopping, only collectors searching for old hardware and parents buying handheld consoles for their children seemed to walk through the doors of the suburban shop.

The shelves were always full of cases of every game under the sun, usually sold to the store by customers so they could have extra cash in their pockets. Retro game cartridges sat in cases on the wall, looked at in wonder by the teenaged staff when they had nothing better to do.

The shop was quiet on this Monday morning. Two young men were on shift today, one looking on in silence as the other tested a handheld gaming system akin to a gray brick. Four buttons decorated its flat surface, and the music seemed to beep at the two boys as one played.

_Ch-i-i-ng._

"Put that away, Chanyeol," one boy grumbled to the other,"Our regular's here."

Chanyeol powered the device off and slapped it face-down on the counter, letting out a loud _clap_ when the plastic hit the glass. His coworker sighed, and the attention of the customer still holding one glass door open was directed towards his peers behind the counters.

He gave them a polite wave, and Chanyeol waved back with an ear-to-ear smile. His coworker said nothing, simply taking the game system from the counter and tearing out the cartridge to place it back in its box.

"It doesn't hurt to be polite, Sehun," Chanyeol attempted to keep his voice low, but it was the loudest sound in the near-silent shop,"He is a regular, after all."

Sehun didn't say a word as he folded the flaps of the system's box, and gently set it back on display in the glass shelf next to its retro games.

Chanyeol watched on as the shop's regular went through his weekly routine; scanning the shelves for any titles that grabbed his eye, and sliding a case or two under his arm. He was a regular even before most people began to turn to PC gaming, and even after all that time, Chanyeol and Sehun had no clue what his name was. He always came during their shifts, always made a joke about at least one of his purchases, and left with a smile. Sehun didn't pay him much mind; he was just another customer. Chanyeol, on the other hand, enjoyed his company and always anticipated his visits.

"Excuse me," it was the regular breaking Chanyeol out of his trance. His head turned quickly, to see the regular pointing at the highest shelf in the store. With an arm completely outstretched, trying to reach a specific title, he said,"Do you think you can get that copy of Final Fantasy and the game guide down from that shelf, please?

Chanyeol smiled as he closed the short distance between the two."No problem."

Chanyeol's six-foot-one-inch height allowed him to reach the items with ease, handing them down to him and joking,"Anything else I can reach for 'ya?"

He laughed, joking back,"Not yet. Thanks, though."

Chanyeol returned to his spot next to the register to allow his customer to finish shopping. He watched as the handsome stranger flipped through manuals and looked up games on his phone, finding himself a bit infatuated. Chanyeol did anything to busy himself, opening case doors to dust off cartridges and readjusting the displays in the windows. He just began work on a cabinet of discs when a small a-hem caused him to whip around to face the main counter.

"I'd like to buy these," said the regular with a sweet smile.

"Oh, no problem, I can ring you up right here."

Chanyeol put the cases under the scanner and inserted clean, fresh discs in them almost on instinct. On the final case, he hesitated after reading a rating warning in the corner of the case.  
A gray-and-white number eighteen on a deep red background was printed on the paper, and Chanyeol looked up to his customer with sympathetic eyes, saying,"Sorry, man, I need to see your ID before I can sell you this."

"It's okay," he insisted.

Digging into a leather wallet, he produced a driver's license, passing it over the counter to Chanyeol. Chanyeol brought the plastic close to his eyes, insisting it was because he didn't have his contacts in today. He read over the information slowly, making sure to absorb it as accurately as possible.

Baekhyun, Byun  
DOB: May 6, 1992

"We're the same age," hummed Chanyeol, sliding the card back while joking,"My buddy Sehun back here is still only seventeen."

Baekhyun and Chanyeol shared a laugh over that. Paying for his items, Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a thank-you and a smile before he departed once again. As soon as the door swung shut behind him, Chanyeol's head fell into his hands and he let out a dreamy sigh.

"You're the same age, huh," called Sehun from the other side of the store,"Lucky you."

Chanyeol was too high on cloud nine to hear his coworker; as he always was after Baekhyun's visits. In the time since Baekhyun became an established regular, Chanyeol found himself falling for him. It was an innocent crush, nothing more than admiration for Baekhyun's quick wit that worked so well with Chanyeol's own, with some admiration for his looks sprinkled in. The way Baekhyun's nose crinkled when Chanyeol told a hilarious joke, the way Baekhyun was delicate with all his movements around the store; he admired it all.

That fact was clear as day to Sehun, who realized Chanyeol was falling the first day Baekhyun walked out of their store. Chanyeol's eyes seemed to linger on the doorframe longer than normal, before he was snapped out of it by another customer waiting to be rang up. Sparks flew on that summer Monday, and they were flying still on this Monday in early autumn.

The rest of his shift was a blurry haze, Chanyeol wandering to his car as the sun went down. Baekhyun was in the back of his mind, as he was every Monday. Chanyeol wanted to desperately to get to know him, but he always convinced himself against it. What if they got together, then broke up, and being in his own work-space would become incredibly awkward? Chanyeol didn't even want to think of that.

Upon arriving at his apartment, Chanyeol made himself comfortable on his sofa. A long wire stretched across his living room to a computer tower resting on a stack of worn books, yet another wire leading from the back of the tower to the back of a large TV. Chanyeol was proud of his little setup; his TV set was now his computer monitor, allowing him to game as comfortably as possible.

He dove right in to his favorite game; Overwatch. Hanzo was his main hero, a character he became skilled with almost immediately in his Overwatch career.

Upon entering a new ranked match, he chose his main at the speed of light. A playful complaint from one of his teammates made his eyes go wide.

"Shit, I wanted to be Hanzo." that was Baekhyun's voice!

Chanyeol laughed into the mic of his wireless headset."You snooze, you lose!"

Chanyeol heard Baekhyun laugh on the other end, then the match finally began. Baekhyun was a skilled Tracer, earning praise from everyone on the team, Chanyeol included. Even with some team imbalances, a bit too many offensive heroes and an unskilled healer, the Point remained a soft blue color. Chanyeol's kill streak rose to five, and watching from the comfort of the point he saw Baekhyun's must be at least twice his, if not more. Baekhyun was such a good player, and Chanyeol found himself impressed. Baekhyun was a joy to play with.

Chanyeol cheered in the voice channel as the final round ended, the play of the game being none other than one of Baekhyun's. The team gave each other compliments, before returning to the main menu.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun exchanged IDs, and started a new co-op competitive session. Together, they were an unstoppable force, one another's versatility with heroes making no opponent impossible. Before either of them knew it, hours passed, and it was now midnight.

"Thanks for joining me, Chanyeol," said Baekhyun's soft, sleepy voice.

"It was my pleasure," Chanyeol insisted,"Hit me up next time you're playing. I'd love to join you."

Baekhyun laughed, a soft _ha-ha-ha_ , before saying,"I'll give you my number in a message. I can't wait to play with you again, Chanyeol!"

~

Chanyeol was jolted awake the next morning by barrage of texts from none other than Baekhyun. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Chanyeol read Baekhyun's offer to go over to his place and play video games from over an hour ago. It wasn't the offer that made Chanyeol shoot up in his bed, though, it was the phrasing that followed it.

 _I do let's-plays_ , said Baekhyun's text, _So we would be on camera playing games...if that would be okay?_

Chanyeol thought it over as he brushed his teeth. Baekhyun was a let's-player...it explained why he frequented the game store, and why he picked up so many console exclusives. Chanyeol stared at his phone on the bathroom counter, resisting the urge to watch some of Baekhyun's videos. _Curiosity killed the cat_ , he eventually told himself. If Baekhyun wanted Chanyeol to watch his videos, he would say so himself.

As Chanyeol's train of thought began to make a stop, his phone dinged with a new text. It was from Baekhyun!

_You down to play some games? On or off camera?_

Chanyeol couldn't help but smile at Baekhyun's enthusiasm.  
_Of course, man_ , he texted back, _I'm not camera-shy, btw. What games did you have in mind?_

 _Well_ , began Baekhyun's new message, _I have the new Mario Kart..._

 _I think I'm a little too good at Mario Kart for you_ , Chanyeol joked back.

 _We'll see about that_ , Baekhyun followed the phrase with and emoji of two eyes looking to the left, _I'll send you my address, and we'll meet in an hour?_

_Sounds like a plan!_

The drive to Baekhyun's apartment was modest, but long enough for Chanyeol to start getting a little nervous. His message to Baekhyun was the truth; Chanyeol wasn't camera-shy, and actually enjoyed standing in the spotlight. Maybe the concepts of let's-plays made him nervous? He couldn't put his finger on it in time before he was parked on the street outside of Baekhyun's apartment complex.

A short elevator ride brought Chanyeol to Baekhyun's floor, where his friend was just about to exit his apartment, one hand still on the door handle. He waved, and Chanyeol waved back, jogging to close the gap between them.

"I saw your car pull up," Baekhyun began,"But now that you're here; welcome to my humble abode!"

The pair kicked their shoes off at the door, and Baekhyun directed them towards an extra bedroom. The spacious room was decorated from floor to ceiling with soundproof padding, a stout green-screen curtain pushed against a wall. In front of the screen sat a desk with a hefty computer tower and two monitors, each showing a different display. Two leather swivel-chairs sat in the middle, each with one GameCube-esque controller sat on their seats.

Chanyeol hummed in admiration as he stepped in, making himself at home on the chair closest to the wall. A single ringlight sat on the desk, hiding a meaty camera from view. A microphone hung over the entire setup, sat in the center of the two chairs. Even more equipment, shiny boxes and a few consoles, sat behind and under the desks.

Chanyeol whistled lowly as Baekhyun took a seat next to him."This must have cost a fortune."

Baekhyun laughed."I'm lucky to be able to afford it."

Chanyeol watched in silence as Baekhyun set his equipment up. It was a somewhat confusing and time-consuming process, but Baekhyun carried it out as if it was second-nature to him.  
While he worked, he asked Chanyeol,"Did you end up looking my YouTube channel up?"

Chanyeol shook his head at the back of Baekhyun's raven locks."I...didn't want to pry if you didn't want me to."

"Well...now, I'm telling you I want you to," Baekhyun shot a look over his shoulder at Chanyeol,"It's not something I'm embarrassed of. You can look if you want. The channel is called _SeekerofLight_."

Chanyeol echoed the name as he pulled his cell phone from the pouch of his sweatshirt. He mumbled it to himself on repeat as he typed the name into YouTube's search bar.

And, there it was. Baekhyun's face sat in a circular profile photo, next to his channel name. The number underneath Baekhyun's name caused Chanyeol to let out a gasp.

"What's up?" asked Baekhyun.

Chanyeol stopped his friend from his setting-up with a hand to his arm. When Baekhyun turned, Chanyeol's voice was only a whisper when he asked,"You have eight million subscribers? Eight million?"

Baekhyun let out a laugh with a tone verging on nervous."Yeah...I'm really lucky. I don't take that number too seriously, though. I'm having fun, and people watching me are having fun, and that's all that really matters. Not a number on a screen or a fancy plaque I'll get in the mail."

"Wow," Chanyeol breathed,"That's...really admirable of you, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun shot Chanyeol a humbled smile. Getting comfortable, Baekhyun declared,"I hope you're ready to prove your Kart skills, Yeol! Let's go!"

With that, the recording began.  
Baekhyun's introductions were simple and quick, introducing Chanyeol as his friend as they dived right into the game. Baekhyun chose his favorite character immediately, a blue Inkling Boy; _as you guys know_ , he insisted. Chanyeol took his turn in the character-selecting hot seat gracefully, using his character versatility to choose a pink Inkling Girl. _So we match_ , he playfully swooned to Baekhyun.

The four, 200cc races were action-packed and full of playful banter between the two. They laughed their heads off at one another, gave one the cold shoulder when the other got first place, and even jokingly flirted with each other.

There were tears in his eyes and pain in his sides as Chanyeol tried to recover from his laughter fits. So absorbed into the game, Chanyeol didn't remember it was all recorded until Baekhyun reached forward to stop the recording software on his computer.

"Whew, that was so fun," Chanyeol said, breathless,"Thank you for inviting me over."

"No problem," Baekhyun smiled at him,"We can play a few more games on- or off-camera, if you want...? I can spare some time today."

"I would love that."

Those words lead them into another incredibly late night of gaming. Chanyeol only realized it was so late because a sudden fact dawned on him, as they frequently do; he has to work in the morning.

"I-I'm sorry, Baekhyun, I have to run," Chanyeol said as he shoved his feet back into his shoes.

"It's alright," Baekhyun leaned against the wall next to his door, watching on.

Before he rushed out the door, Chanyeol said,"I'll see you around. We have to do this again sometime. Maybe we can play Overwatch for your channel?"

Baekhyun smiled, his nose crinkling in a way that made Chanyeol's heart melt."I'd love that! See you around, Yeol!"

"See you around...Baek!"

~

"Woooow...you went to his house, and everything. He even made a nickname for you. How darling."  
Sehun teased his coworker about their regular. Chanyeol told Sehun the whole story, the only pair of ears listening in the empty game store.

"He's a really kind person," insisted Chanyeol, lips wrapped around the green straw of the strongest takeout coffee he could find.

Sehun affectionately ruffled Chanyeol's red-dyed hair and cooed,"That's lovely. He really is the man of your dreams."

Chanyeol nodded slowly, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned against the counter. Another long, slow day was ahead of him. And, just like any other day, his mind would be flooded with thoughts of Baekhyun.

A few customers came and went, one notably glaring at Sehun as he asked for assistance with the top shelf. One of Sehun's friends, calling himself Junmyeon, stopped in to visit him. While they bantered among themselves, Chanyeol received a new text, pulling him out of his haze.

From Baekhyun  
_The video we did yesterday is up on my channel now! Watch it and tell me what you think!!!!!_

 _On it_ , Chanyeol texted back swiftly.

He dug into the pockets of his khakis and produced a pair of headphones. Plugging them into his phone with a click and sliding one into each ear, he made himself comfortable leaning against the front counter.

Chanyeol pulled SeekerofLight up on his phone, and swiped right to see his most-recent uploads. And there it was in the thumbnail, green-screened in; Baekhyun and Chanyeol laughing their heads off. The title read, _Karting With Friends! - Mario Kart 8 DELUXE_

Chanyeol clicked on the thumbnail, and the video began.  
Seeing himself under Baekhyun's lights for the first time, Chanyeol found himself taking a bit of pride in how nice he looked. Although dressed casually in a band t-shirt, his bright-red hair had a certain shine to it, and his skin glowed a little.

Baekhyun looked even better though, his attractiveness only growing as he began to laugh and joke with Chanyeol. His eyes drifted to look only to Baekhyun, ignoring the races going on behind him. Baekhyun would laugh so hard his entire body seemed to shake. His pink lips would part ever so slightly, then snap together again when he would become more intensely focused.

Oh, the third race. The race Chanyeol won by a landslide.  
The Dry Dry Desert wasn't Baekhyun's best course. He swerved into the sand, got caught in traps set by computer players; the works. At the final lap, he and Chanyeol were neck-and-neck. Baekhyun was in first, Chanyeol in second. The atmosphere was thick with concentration as they turned the corner, and approached the quicksand area.

Baekhyun was sucked in instantaneously, while Chanyeol avoided it skillfully. Baekhyun screamed. Chanyeol laughed so hard he cried. When they crossed the finish line, Chanyeol sat comfortably at second, and Baekhyun at eighth.

Baekhyun's editing for this segment made Chanyeol laugh out loud.  
Baekhyun's eyes turned from the scoreboard that told him he'd dropped to fourth place, to the floor beneath his feet sadly. The video was monochrome now, a rain effect and comically sad piano music added in.

Baekhyun breathed in a few faux-sniffles, and wiped away non-existent tears. Chanyeol didn't let his friend be sad for long, though. Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun into a hug, planting a gentle kiss on his head and reassuring him, _it's all okay, you can still make a comeback, this isn't the end!_

In the moment, Chanyeol didn't think too into his actions. An affectionate guy, it was normal to Chanyeol to be that close and touchy with friends. After watching it back, Chanyeol felt a little shy; he did have a crush on Baekhyun after all, and he hope his actions didn't make his new friend uncomfortable.

The video ended in Baekhyun's victory, much to Chanyeol's delight. As Baekhyun said casual good-byes to his audience, Chanyeol scrolled down towards the comments section. His thumb wavered for a moment as a spinning circle indicated loading, but still continued on.

Most comments spoke about what either player could have done to won, or were repeated funny phrases heard in the video. An influx of comments of the same nature caused Chanyeol's face to begin to flush.

 _They're so cute together!_  
_Chanyeol and Baekhyun are so funny together, they should collab more often!_  
_ChanBaek? I ship it._

Chanyeol found himself laughing at the combination of Baekhyun's and his names. He took a screenshot of the comment, reminding himself to show it to Baekhyun.

Chanyeol opened their text thread again, and began to compose a message containing the screenshot to Baekhyun. As his thumbs began to type, a small family walked into the store. Chanyeol blindly typed something along the lines of _'thoughts?'_ , then pocketed his phone, returning to the task at hand.

The store was busy even as Sehun and Chanyeol clocked out, and the closing shift began to take their places. The two coworkers said quick good-byes to each other, and once Chanyeol pulled his car door shut behind him, he pulled out his phone to check his texts.

There it was; a new one from Baekhyun. Chanyeol's thumb shook as he opened it.

 _Hahaha!_ Baekhyun's textual laugh was just like his verbal, _That's cute._  
Another speech bubble sat beneath the first, saying, _tbh, I wouldn't mind making their ship sail._

Chanyeol's face flushed, and suddenly it was scorching-hot inside his car. Baekhyun would be okay with...dating him? That's what he meant, right?

Chanyeol's entire hands were shaking as he texted back the truth, _I wouldn't mind that, either._

Baekhyun's gray bubble, indicating he was typing, didn't pop up instantaneously as usual. Chanyeol tried to push that to the back of his mind as he drove home.

He found himself on his couch again that evening, completely absorbed in Overwatch and competitive rounds. His score went up and down, but he didn't mind too much; he was having fun, that was all that mattered.

Chanyeol found himself so intensely focused, he almost missed his phone ding with a new text message. Lucky for him, the match was over just then with his team victorious. After exchanging congratulations and returning to the lobby, Chanyeol threw his controller aside in favor of his phone.

 _Are u doing anything tonight?_ asked the new text from Baekhyun.

 _Nope_ , replied Chanyeol. He took a more bold route by asking, _I'll give you my address, and it'll be a date?_

Baekhyun wrote back at the speed of light, _Of course. I'd love that._

~  
The next Monday, Sehun and Chanyeol were at work once again. Chanyeol casually spoke about Baekhyun from time to time, but he didn't speak a word about the night in they shared.

The shop was quiet all morning, until the gentle sound of windchimes hung above the shop's door told the two workers a customer was present. They leaned towards the sound in sync, both wondering if it was their regular.

Chanyeol got a mere glimpse of the customer's face before shouting across the room,"Baekhyun!!"

Baekhyun laughed, a _ha-ha-ha-ha_ that bounced off all the walls of the shop before calling back,"Hi, Chanyeol! And hi, Chanyeol's friend!"  
"Sehun."  
"Hi, Sehun!"

Chanyeol left his spot behind the counter to bounce up to Baekhyun, wrapping him up in a bear hug. Baekhyun laughed again when Chanyeol leaned down and pressed a small kiss against his forehead.

Sehun gasped aloud, causing the couple to turn to face him.  
"You didn't tell me you were dating our regular!" he finally exclaimed. Feigning offense and crossing his arms, he asked,"How long were you going to keep me out of the know?"

Chanyeol shrugged, playful."You know now; that's all that matters."

Sehun scoffed at that, a small smile decorating his features."I'm happy for you. You've finally found your player two."

Baekhyun and Chanyeol swooned at the title.  
"Wait," began Chanyeol,"Who's player one and who's player two?"

A heated debate sparked between the couple, and Sehun laughed softly. Pushing his colder exterior aside for a moment, Sehun was full of genuine joy for Chanyeol. Sehun was always a sucker for happy endings, where someone gets that guy or girl they always dreamed about. Finally seeing it happen in person was truly a sight for Sehun to behold.


End file.
